Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: NHL-Network

NHL Network U.S. will provide exclusive live coverage of all U.S. National Junior Team games at the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26 – Jan. 5, in Buffalo, N.Y. NHL Network U.S. will also televise all medal-round games and five additional preliminary-round match-ups, airing a total of 15 games in high definition from the tournament. All U.S. games will be NHL Network original broadcasts. In addition, NHL Network will provide nightly recaps on its signature show “NHL On the Fly.”

Gary Thorne, Dave Starman, Fred Pletsch and Billy Jaffe will make up the broadcast team for the NHL Network’s coverage of Team USA games.

Former Canadiens forward Mike Johnson isn’t on team charters any longer, now boarding commercial flights for his broadcast assignments as a hockey analyst for TSN and the NHL Network….

In the studio and broadcast booths, Johnson cherishes remaining close to the game he loves. And he’s not afraid to speak his mind, aware that players who in many cases were teammates or opponents are among those he critiques.

“At times, I might be critical of players who are vastly superior to me,” he said. “But if I’m going to say something on the air that’s critical, it’s something I’d also say to the person’s face and be able to defend.”

Text messages will fly back and forth: “Hey Mike, I hear you took a shot at me on the show ...” might get the lighthearted reply: “Don’t fall down and I won’t be able to say anything.”

With no formal training, Johnson listens to as much as he watches the games he’s not working. He’ll seek out feedback from industry veterans “and try to develop good habits and watch for ways to improve, as I did when I played.”

NEW YORK (October 13, 2010) – The NHL Network U.S. will put the developing talents of many of the game’s top young players on display this season when it broadcasts 10 American Hockey League games in partnership with the AHL.

Beginning on Oct. 17, when the Toronto Marlies play host to the Binghamton Senators, the NHL Network will broadcast 10 Sunday afternoon games.

NEW YORK (October 4, 2010) – NHL Network U.S. will televise 78 live games this season, all in HD, with live game action from every NHL Club spread over multiple days a week throughout the regular season. Three “flex” games in addition to the 75 listed below will guarantee viewers get the key matchups with playoff implications. Local blackouts will apply to all live games and game replays.

NEW YORK—NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will recap the eventful summer and look ahead to the 2010-11 regular season when NHL Live!™, relaunches on Monday, September 27, the National Hockey League announced today. NHL Live!, the League’s daily radio show, is broadcast live on Sirius XM Radio, streamed on NHL.com and simulcast on NHL Network each weekday from noon – 2 p.m. ET.

Host Don La Greca and frequent contributor E.J. Hradek will anchor Monday’s show live from the NHL Powered by Reebok Store, the NHL’s state-of-the-art flagship store located in the heart of New York City. In addition to Commissioner Bettman, the first show of the season will focus on bringing fans up-to-speed on all the off-season transactions, events and storylines from all 30 NHL markets.

added 4:06pm, note: The NHL just sent out a revised schedule, so I have changed the post to reflect the changes.

NEW YORK (September 20, 2010) – Live NHL® hockey returns to NHL Network™ beginning Tuesday, Sept. 21, with an unprecedented total of 35 pre-season games broadcast on the Network in the U.S. providing fans with nightly contests from around the League through Sunday, Oct. 3. This is the most comprehensive coverage of the pre-season ever on the Network with 40 hours of live game broadcasts and 78 hours total of live and delayed broadcasts. Including re-broadcasts, there will be more than 200 hours of pre-season action available on NHL Network U.S. The 2010-11 NHL regular season commences on Thursday, Oct. 7.

The 35-game schedule begins with the Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers taking on local rivals the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m. ET in the first game of a Sept. 21 broadcast triple-header. The next night, the Tampa Bay Lightning will play host to the Stanley Cup® champion Chicago Blackhawks at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre and will be among three games available. Other highlights of the pre-season schedule include the 2010 Kraft Hockeyville game between the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators in Dundas, Ontario. 33 out of the 35 games will be shown in HD.

Next season, NHL Network still isn’t going to be the edgy realm of hockey conjecture some of us wish it would become. But it is undergoing some big changes in production and philosophy that have us excited—and we have the NFL to thank for them.

Sports Business Journal (sub. req.) reported Monday that Charles Coplin, formerly the vice president of programming at the NFL, has been recruited by Collins (a former NFL executive) to become the NHL’s executive vice president of content. It’s a massive gig that involves developing and managing relationships with local networks, managing content on NHL.com and other media platforms, as well as on NHL Network.

NHL Network is going to stop being a meandering home of highlight reels and random archival programming, and start becoming a place that breaks news and creates timely shows throughout the year….

Every weekday throughout July and August, the NHL Network-U.S. will air a special series, “35 Years of Stanley Cup Clinchers, 1975-2010.” Fans can watch a re-broadcast of Stanley Cup-clinching games from seasons past with a chance to vote for their top five contests. Those top five games—Fans’ Choice Encores—will air from Aug. 23-27.

Here is the schedule for July 12-16:

Monday, July 12
1980: Philadelphia at N.Y. Islanders, Game 6

In their eighth NHL season, the New York Islanders became the second expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. Two players, Bill Smith and Bob Nystrom, had been with the team since it’s inception in 1972-73.

continued and watch the game highlights of the Philly/NYI game 6 below.